NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–New York Life has launched a new income annuity, Mutual Income, designed
to offer clients the opportunity to directly participate in the
company’s mutual structure. Separately, New York Life has expanded its
income annuity options available on tax-qualified savings. Both
innovations address the growing demands of retirees and pre-retirees.

“New York Life’s agents represent the market leader in income
annuities*, and they have worked with hundreds of thousands of Americans
as they prepare to turn their hard earned retirement savings into
income. Through that work, we’ve learned that retirement is unique to
each individual, but guaranteed retirement income is something
they all value. With the launch of New York Life Mutual Income
Annuities** and the availability of our deferred income annuities as
Qualifying Longevity Annuity Contracts (QLACs), we are giving
pre-retirees and retirees the guarantees they want and the ability to
customize retirement income to meet their needs,” said Dylan Huang,
managing director, New York Life.

Mutual Income Offers Growth in Retirement Income

Mutual Income works much like a traditional income annuity, where income
can begin immediately or be deferred until a future start date of the
client’s choosing. As with other income annuities, a client invests a
lump sum with an insurer, and receives an income stream that’s
guaranteed for life. But unlike traditional income annuities, the total
income amount is not capped at the guarantee. As policy owners, New York
Life’s Mutual Income clients will also be eligible for annual dividends
that can be used to increase their retirement income beyond the
guaranteed amount.***

“With the launch of Mutual Income, New York Life is, for the first time,
expanding its dividend opportunity to our income annuity clients,” said
Mr. Huang. “This is a historic product offering from New York Life that
greatly expands our mutual structure to benefit our policy owners
looking for retirement income. They are eligible to receive a dividend
if declared, and because we do not have shareholders, policy owners can
expect that the company’s highest priority will be safeguarding their
interests.”

“Dividends can also offer a means of inflation protection,” Mr. Huang
added. Inflation protection is a meaningful benefit for the nearly 50
percent of retirees and pre-retirees who have a strong preference for
income payments that may increase to cope with inflation over the course
of their retirement. (Secure Retirement Institute, 2014).

QLAC Offers Flexibility with Retirement Income

Approximately 70% of purchasers of New York Life’s deferred income
annuity are using tax qualified retirement savings they already have in
IRAs or 401(k)s — but until now, an individual’s ability to decide when
to start income has been limited by Required Minimum Distribution (RMD)
rules, which generally require retirees to begin withdrawing from their
qualified accounts by age 70½. New York Life saw evidence of this
limitation among its own customers: almost a third (31%) of purchasers
using non-qualified money elect an income start date between the age of
70½ and 85, indicating a desire to defer income to a more advanced age.

“We believe the purchase pattern that we see in our non-qualified sales
indicates that there will be even more interest in deferred income
annuities now that the income start date is permitted beyond the age of
70½. When pre-retirees have no restrictions around the income start
date, they are using the flexibility that deferred income annuities
afford to create retirement income tailored to their specific needs,”
added Mr. Huang. “Some will want to use other assets to fund the early
years of their retirement, some will be looking to leverage the power of
deferral to provide for expenses later in life and others may want to
work into their 70s without having to tap into their retirement savings
via an RMD. All can benefit from learning about the benefits of QLACs.”

New York Life Insurance Company, a Fortune 100 company founded in
1845, is the largest mutual life insurance company in the United
States**** and one of the largest life insurers in the world. New York
Life has the highest possible financial strength ratings currently
awarded to any life insurer from all four of the major credit rating
agencies: A.M. Best (A++), Fitch (AAA), Moody’s Investors Service (Aaa),
Standard & Poor’s (AA+).***** Headquartered in New York City, New York
Life’s family of companies offers life insurance, retirement income,
investments and long-term care insurance. New York Life
Investments****** provides institutional asset management. Other New
York Life affiliates provide an array of securities products and
services, as well as retail mutual funds. Please visit New York Life’s
website at www.newyorklife.com
for more information.

*New York Life is the leader in sales of deferred income annuities, with
35 percent of the market for first quarter 2015, according to LIMRA
International, U.S. Individual Annuity Sales Survey, Participants
Report, Deferred Income Annuities, First Quarter 2015 results.

**New York Life Guaranteed Mutual Income and Future Mutual Income
Annuities are issued by New York Life Insurance Company. All guarantees
are based upon the claims-paying ability of the issuer. Note: for
qualified Future Mutual Income Annuity, any dividend payments received
during deferral must be used to purchase additional income.